Neutral Zone had scouts at every prep jamboree which accounted for about 1/3 of the prep league over the past week. Some teams did not play in jamborees and therefore were not seen. However, to shape our poll we used 3 categories; prior years performance, incoming prospects and our scouts eye test from the jamborees.
We will not only list the top 15 but provide detail as to what puts them at their respective spots. Every Monday evening we’ll be posting our Weekly Prep Poll so this is the first of many!
1. Kimball Union Academy
2017-2018: Record: (28-5-1) Elite 8 Champions
Key Returners: Arlo Merritt (Ohio State), Kyle Penney (Cornell), Christian Felton (Bentley)
Key Losses: Andranik Armstrong (UMass Lowell), Thomas Samuelsen (UConn), Jordan Harris (Northeastern), Logan Cash (Vermont), Bryce Dolan (Holy Cross), Sean Dynan (CCHL)
Incoming: Zachary Paputsakis, Brian Carrabes (BU), Conner Chalmers
NZ’s take: Kimball Union a lot from their back to back prep title runs; but it’d be hard to knock them off the pedestal. They graduated their top 5 scorers who were all NCAA D1 committed players including an NHL draft pick and they lost their starting goalie for both prep titles. However, they still return three of the better prospects in the league in Arlo Merritt, Kyle Penny and Christian Felton who are ready to lead this team. Sprinkle in 6’3 netminder and OHL pick Zachary Paputsakis, BU recruit Brian Carrabes who will make an immediate impact and young highly touted defenseman Conner Chalmers coming off a big summer. On paper they are not as skilled as they were last season, especially with losses from Armstrong and Harris who were arguably the most productive forward and defender in the league last year. However, the team has a lot of depth and their returning core is better than they get credit for. Circle the calender for Elite 8 Title rematch against Salisbury at the Flood Marr where the teams tied last year and KUA advanced to the finals on a coin flip.
2. Salisbury School
2017-2018: Record: (25-2-1) Elite 8 Runner Up
Key Returners: Luke Krys (Brown), Matthew DeBoer, Nick Capone (Maine), Ilya Usau (UConn)
Key Losses: Peter Diliberatore (Quinnipiac), Nick Hale (Holy Cross), Jacques Bouquot (BC), Alex DiPaolo (UMass), Kevin Wall (Penn St), Matthew Holmes (Brown), Brett Willits (BCHL), Arsenii Smekhov (UConn)
Incoming: Jarod Crespo (Penn State), Cole Vallese (Providence), Tom Richter (Union), Matthew Coronato (Harvard), Bayard Hall (Brown), Justin Hryckowian (Northeastern), Lucas Mercuri (Vermont)
NZ’s Take: Salisbury, like KUA, lost a lot to graduation including an NHL draft pick and 7 NCAA D1 commits as well as their starting goalie. From what we saw at the jamboree, and two of their top incoming prospects were out with injury (Justin Hryckowian and Tom Richter), the team isn’t as big or as experienced as a year before. However, some bright spots from the jamboree is that they are a better skating team, they are very deep top line to bottom line and two returners Michael Fairfax and Dean Bauchiero look to have taken a nice step forward in their game. They have plenty of talent this year and a few big power forwards to make them tough to play against but it’s a lot of new players playing key roles. Early test against a good Taft team will be telling.
3. Dexter School
2017-2018: Record: (21-5-2) Elite 8 Playoffs
Key Returners: John Farinacci (Harvard), Derek Mullahy (Harvard), John Fusco, Chase McInnis (Northeastern), Ben Meehan (UMass Lowell) and Aidan Connolly
Key Losses: Jack Rathbone (Harvard), Ian Murphy (Princeton), Jack Nisbet (Babson)
Incoming: Patrick Morrissey (D), Culin Wilson (F), Jack Dempsey (F), Connor Blanchard (F), Mike Adamson (D)
NZ’s Take: While Rathbone was arguably the most talented player in prep hockey and he’s shown he can step into a D1 roster and contribute right away; the team loses the least talent of the top 3 teams in the league. They return the consensus best goalie in the league in Derek Mullahy and the best forward in the league in John Farinacci. They are a year older, a year more experienced and our scouts were impressed with the speed, depth and power play at the St. Andrews scrimmage. There are some who believe this is the team to beat this year in prep and they’ll have a chance to prove it in their first game against a talented Cushing squad.
4. Lawrence Academy
2017-2018: Record: (21-10-1) Small School Champions
Key Returners: Braden Doyle (Boston University), Tyler Young (Providence), Sam Colangelo (Northeastern), Connor Sweeney (UNH), Drew Bavaro (Bentley)
Key Losses: Neil Shea (Northeastern), Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (RPI), Jack Cameron (Dartmouth)
Incoming: David Sacco (UNH), Riley Duran (Providence)
NZ’s Take: The good news for Lawrence is that on paper they have one of the best teams in all of prep with 5 D1 commits returning and adding 2 more in recruiting. The bad news is they had similar talent last year and didn’t make the Elite 8 playoffs. With that being said they are a year older, a year more experienced and prospects Sam Colangelo and Tyler Young are coming off big summers and look to take another step in their game. Sacco and Duran are important pieces because they bring a power and compete level that will make the team tougher to play against. Question with this squad will be defensively as they gave up the most goals of any team in the top 10 last year, but they have enough talent to go toe to toe with anyone.
5. Cushing Academy
2017-2018: Record: (22-9-1) Elite 8
Key Returners: Patrick Borella, Cameron Recchi, Patrick Keegan (Wisconsin), Joe Sharib (Union), Billy Norcross, Jake Hewitt
Key Losses: Matthew Guerra (Bentley), Vilho Saariluoma (Bentley), Nolan McElhaney (UNH), Michael Outzen (NAHL) and Cam Berube (Bowdoin)
Incoming: Bryce Montgomery (Providence), Max Bogdanovich (Maine), Nick and Anthony Cafarelli, Lukas Gustafsson
NZ Take: Cushing lost their three best players from last years team who they relied heavily on; however, there is a strong core returning, they have size and depth on the blue line and one of the top goalies in the league. They’ll be tough to play against, they are strong, physical and can skate. The question with this group will be goal scoring; who is going to put pucks in the net and can they get enough goals to beat top teams?
6. St. Sebastian’s School
2017-2018 Season: Record: (18-10-1) Large School Playoffs
Key Returners: Liam Gorman (BU), Tommy Lyons (Harvard), Jayden Struble (Northeastern), Liam Devlin (UNH), Liam Connors (BU), James Davenport (Brown)
Key Losses: Riley Hughes (Northeastern), Drew Commesso (BU), Wyatt Schlaht (Brown)
Incoming: Timmy Delay (BC), Jack Hughes (Northeastern) , Brendan Gorman
NZ’s Take: St. Seb’s loses an NHL draft pick up front and their starting goalie to the national program which both will leave major holes; however, they bring in some of the best ‘03s in the country and former teammates with the BC Jr. Eagles Timmy Delay – Jack Hughes – Brendan Gorman. They bring back 6 D1 commits, several of whom will be among the best players in the league. Question mark will be consistency which is what plagued this team last season and question mark in net after Commesso left for NTDP.
7. Gunnery
2017-2018: Record: (18-9-2) Small School Playoffs
Key Returners: Mark D’Aagostino (UConn), Mason Beecher, Jimmy Rayhill (Cornell), Niko Ioannou, Hunter Sansbury, Riley Brennan, Alex Coady
Key Losses: Albert Washco (Bowdoin), Marc Gatcomb (UConn), Zach Pellegrino (Bentley),
Incoming: Aden Hotchkiss (Sacred Heart, Alex Jeffries (Merrimack), Case Kantgias, Jeff Kopeck, David Andreychuk, Jayden Baptiste
NZ’s Take: Gunnery returns 7 of their top 10 scorers from last season and added a pair of D1 commits up front to help fill the void from the 3 three they lost. They can roll 4 lines which will make them a difficult matchup and they’ll be fresher than most heading into the playoffs. They return both Mella and Andranovich in net and most of their blue line is intact from last season so they should be tough to score goals against. We’ll learn a lot about this team after the Avon Holiday Tournament.
8. Phillips Exeter
2017-2018: Record: (24-6-2) Elite 8
Key Returners: Michael Pitts, Gray Betts, Garrett Foster, Ryan Welch
Key Losses: Bobby Murray (NCDC), Sam Stone (Connecticut College)
Incoming: Paddy Mangan, Peter Garrett, Noah Jankowski, Nick Foderaro
NZ’s Take: Exeter is coming off a 24 win season and while they lose 4 of their top 6 scorers; they have the returners to fill the void and have added a few older players who can step in and contribute right away. Exeter will always compete and they return top netminder Ryan Welch who can steal games. They have added some size to the backend but will need to find ways to score as they don’t have a top scoring line like the teams ranked above them.
9. Rivers School
2017-2018: Record (27-2-2) Elite 8
Key Returners: Pat Lawn (Bentley), Tony Andreozzi (Brown), Ryan Rahbany, Cade Webber (BU), Phillip Tresca (Yale), Rory Casey
Key Losses: Aidan Porter (Princeton), Teddy Wooding (Yale), John Corrigan (Babson) and Billy Shea
Incoming: Connor Sullivan and Carsen Janko
NZ’s Take: Can’t stress enough how big of a void Aidan Porter leaves Rivers; he has been their best player the past three seasons. They also lose great experience and leadership in Wooding, Shea, Capello and Corrigan. This is a team returns one of the best blue lines in prep hockey led by NHL Draft prospect Cade Webber but they don’t have many difference makers up front and will have to find ways to score goals. Worth noting; returners Casey Rory and Mike McEachern looked good in their scrimmage against Thayer and could help fill some of the offensive void from graduations. Two new goalies Connor Sullivan and Carsen Janko will compete for time to fill Porters shoes. Also worth noting, Aidan Porters brother transferred to Proctor Academy and had a great showing at the Jamboree.
10. Avon Old Farms
2017-2018: Record: (13-11-3) No Playoffs
Key Returners: Moe Acee (St. Lawrence), Jason Siedem, John Louder, Tim Heinke, Stefan Miklakos
Key Losses: Ryan Kirwan (Penn State), Matt Kirwan (NAHL), Nick Wildgoose (St. Lawrence) and Max Sauve (Penn State)
Incoming: Drew Tsakounis (Penn State), Timur Alishlalov, PJ Neal, Tyler Boucher (BU)
NZ’s Take: Avon had a disappointing season last year missing the playoffs with a talented team, but they return a lot of skill up front and have added some high end ’02 and ’03 prospects. They’ll still be pretty young relative to the rest of the league, but they have speed and offensive ability that few teams can rival. The question will be on the blue line and if they can get consistency between the pipes.
11. Milton Academy
2017-2018: Record: (18-4-2) Elite 8 Playoffs
Key Returners: Quinton Fox, Erik Voloshin
Key Losses: Tyler Campbell (AJHL), Tiger Zhang (Harvard) , Matthew Beniers (NTDP)
Incoming: ? (No Roster Posted)
NZ’s Take: Milton loses 7 of their top 9 scorers from last year; however, they bring back leading point producer Quinton Fox upfront and one of the top goalies in the league Erik Voloshin. Milton is similar to Rivers in that they have always played a solid team-first structured game and with their goaltending they’ll play teams hard. Uncertainty is if they have enough skill up front to beat the better teams. They play St. Sebastian’s and Lawrence Academy before the Flood Marr so we’ll learn a lot there.
12. Loomis Chaffee
2017-2018: Record: (12-11-3) Large School Playoffs
Key Returners: Alex Krause (Dartmouth), Cody Hoban (Dartmouth), Anthony Cipollone (Vermont), Reilly Connors (Yale), Kennedy O’Connor (UMass Amherst)
Key Losses: Andrew Lucas (Vermont), Trent DeNuccio (NCDC)
Incoming: Kyle Chauvette (Holy Cross), Ben Ritter (Dartmouth), Adam Martin
NZ’s Take: Loomis was just over .500 last year, but returns a lot of their top talent and from what we saw at the jamboree at Hotchkiss Anthony Cipollone looks poised for a breakout season and 01’s Kennedy O’Connor, Cody Hoban and Alex Krause will be the leaders. They are likely upgraded in net with Kyle Chauvette coming in and Ben Ritter and Adam Martin will be immediate impact newcomers.
13. Kent School
2017-2018: Record: (6-10-7)
Key Returners: Collin & Aidan Cobb, Ian Pierce, Jason Kleinhans, Matthew Perryman, Alex Giummo
Key Losses: Jeremy Routh (CCHL), Tyler Cooligan (Williams), Adam Usinger (OJHL)
Incoming: Dane Dowiak (Penn State), Alex Laferriere (Army), Michael Posma (Air Force)
NZ’s Take: Kent played a lot of teams tough last year (they had 7 ties) despite only getting 6 wins on the season. They didn’t lose a ton to graduation; they return both goalies, a solid core of forwards and bring in 3 NCAA D1 commits up front. The question mark is on the blue line but they looked mighty sharp against a talented Gunnery team at the Berkshire Jamboree. This could be a stretch to have them this high, but we liked what we saw at the jamborees and they look like a team on the rebound. They have a tough start to the season playing 4 ranked games before the Avon Christmas Tournament but a .500 record through that stretch would go a long way to getting them back to playoffs.
14. Thayer Academy
2017-2018: Record: (17-12-1) Large School Runner Up
Key Returners: Reilly Moran (Army), Sasha Teleguine (Northeastern), Christian Hayes, Nolan Hayes, Jake Flynn
Key Losses: Jay O’Brien (Providence), Aiden McDonough (Northeastern), Tristan Amonte (USHL), Jayson Dobay (UMass Amherst),
Incoming: Michael Stenberg, Nick Roukounakis, CJ Montorio
NZ’s Take: Thayer lost a lot of their top echelon talent last season to graduation including first round NHL pick Jay O’Brien. With that being said they return a solid nucleus and had a nice win in the scrimmage against a tough Rivers squad. They won’t be as talented up front but they’ll be more experienced and ’02 netminder Gavin Fitzpatrick who won the starting job last season will be a year more seasoned. They brought in some talent upfront but question marks remain on the blue line.
15. Taft School
2017-2018: Record: (8-14-1)
Key Returners: Ryan Colwell, Christian Jiminez (Harvard), Zack Tonelli, Billy Dobensky
Key Losses: Jordan Tonelli (Brown), Shea Courtmanche (Dartmouth), Nik Allain (UConn)
Incoming: Nikita Kovalev, Andrew Ebersol, Justin Humenay
NZ’s Take: Like Kent, this is another team that had a losing record last season and could be a stretch to have them in the top 15 but they looked deserving at the St. Paul’s Jamboree taking down Groton 6-2 and beating a Tabor team 5-4 who was close to making the poll. They are deep, they have a good combination of experience, skill and size including two of the better defenseman in prep in Jiminez and Dobensky. They’ll have their hands full with Salisbury to start the season, but they should take a step forward with the experience and talent they return.
Next Best:
#16 NMH, #17 Brunswick, #18 Westminster, #19 Tabor, #20 Trinity Pawling
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling / Hickling Images
